Just thought I'd drop a line or two. Joined this forum thanks to neogeo20041. Met him a couple a weeks ago and i can honestly say he is a fish addict I've done freshwater for 13 years (55g) but have presently switched to the DARKSIDE (salt) this year Currently I'm taking my time setting up a 160g(7ft) reef ready Oceanic tank with 50g breeder sump. This setup will be FOWLR (fish only with live rock) as I don't want a $300 electric bill from running high watt lights to keep coral, lol. After seeing a beautiful 75g planted tank yesterday, I may also setup a planted FW 40b but I doubt it, the power of the darkside is too strong! Although I do miss the silence of a FW tank

I've done some research on LED lighting, the prices are not bad but I would need a minimum of 360 watts (120wx3) to keep decent coral. When you add that to all the other pumps running (most 24/7), that adds up pretty quick. Well, unless you know something I don't. I'm open to suggestions

People here are much more crazy then me :0 I'm not very good with salt water but I know few people here that are crazy about salt water like I'm bout freshwater. I'm sure they can help you more than me .

KeepNitReel wrote:I've done some research on LED lighting, the prices are not bad but I would need a minimum of 360 watts (120wx3) to keep decent coral. When you add that to all the other pumps running (most 24/7), that adds up pretty quick. Well, unless you know something I don't. I'm open to suggestions

Nothing says you have to light the tank the same all the way down its length. You could do a reef at one end or in the middle.. that gets you down to a third. There's nothing saying you have to light the tank all the way down its height, either. Keep the corals in the top half of the tank and you could get down to a sixth of your original consumption estimate. I mean, if you just want fish, cool, but.. (see above)

Oh, by the way, you are most welcome. We're glad to have you among us.

KeepNitReel wrote:I've done some research on LED lighting, the prices are not bad but I would need a minimum of 360 watts (120wx3) to keep decent coral. When you add that to all the other pumps running (most 24/7), that adds up pretty quick. Well, unless you know something I don't. I'm open to suggestions

Nothing says you have to light the tank the same all the way down its length. You could do a reef at one end or in the middle.. that gets you down to a third. There's nothing saying you have to light the tank all the way down its height, either. Keep the corals in the top half of the tank and you could get down to a sixth of your original consumption estimate. I mean, if you just want fish, cool, but.. (see above)

Oh, by the way, you are most welcome. We're glad to have you among us.

Lol, I thought about that too! Realized that having a single fixture is a setup. Just like an alcoholic saying, "I'll just have one drink!" Also I plan to keep a flame angel & a lemon peel angle, known coral nippers. I like fish way more than I do corals and don't want to limit what I can keep in a 7ft tank.I like the way you think though, will probably run some of my ideas by you to get your thoughts later down the line.